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masala chai gingersnaps

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This is a chai-spiced version of my gingersnaps. There’s extra ginger, ground black tea leaves, and chai masala for the full effect, and they’re great with tea or coffee (even though the cookies contain tea).

  • Yield: 48 to 50 cookies

Ingredients

2 ½ cups/350 g all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp ground ginger

1 Tbsp chai masala, homemade or store-bought

2 to 3 tsp ground Assam or Darjeeling tea leaves

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 cup/220 g unsalted butter, cubed at room temperature

¾ cup/150 g packed dark brown sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

½ cup/120 ml date syrup or unsulfured molasses

1 Tbsp peeled and grated fresh ginger

½ cup/120 g chopped crystallized ginger

1 cup/200 g demerara sugar or sparkling sugar

Instructions

  1. Place the two-wire racks at mid-height in the oven and preheat the oven to 325F/165C. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Dry whisk the flour, ginger, chai masala, tea, and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fixed with the paddle attachment. Beat over medium speed until the butter is creamed and turns a pale light brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl down with a silicone spatula.
  4. Whisk the egg, date syrup, and ginger with a fork in a small mixing bowl and pour the mixture into the creamed butter. Mix over medium speed until combined and the mixture turns fluffy, 1 ½ to 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl down and add the flour mixture. Mix over low speed until combined and there are no visible flecks of dry flour, 1 ½ to 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl down and add the crystallized ginger, process over low speed for 30 seconds to 1 minute until the ginger is evenly distributed. Remove the bowl from the mixer.
  5. Place the demerara sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Take out 1 Tbsp of cookie dough using a cookie scoop, shape into a round ball, and toss the ball in the demerara sugar until coated well. If the dough starts to turn too sticky, grease your hands lightly with a little unsalted butter. The cookie scoop will get sticky after a few rounds of scooping. To avoid this, set a small jug filled with hot water and dip the cookie scoop into it to rinse off the stuck dough and shake off the excess water before using. Place the sugared ball of cookie dough on the lined baking sheet. Prepare the rest of the cookie dough in the same manner, spacing them out by about 1 inch/2.5cm on the baking sheet. There should be 16 balls of cookie dough per sheet. Bake two sheets at a time, rotating the pans halfway through during baking until the cookies turn golden brown and crisp, the tops crinkle, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

  • Freshly ground spices taste best in this recipe, so try to use a freshly made mix of gingersnap cookies.
  • I used a dark Darjeeling tea (orange pekoe leaves). Make sure the powder is super fine, sift it through a strainer if possible.
  • I like sparkling sugar over granulated sugar because it gives a delicious crunchy texture to the cookie.

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